Iranian rocket attack against U.S. base in Iraq - Mar 14
Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2020 5:58 pm
The US has launched retaliatory air strikes against a pro-Iranian militia group in Iraq after a rocket attack killed two of its soldiers.
The strikes targeted five weapons storage facilities across the country, the US defence department said.
Two Americans and a British soldier were killed in Wednesday's rocket attack on the Camp Taji military base.
The Iraqi military says three soldiers, two policemen and a civilian were killed in the US counter-strikes.
It said the US had carried out "a blatant attack" on Iraqi military sites in Babil province and an airport under construction in Karbala province. It also said the headquarters of the Popular Mobilisation (PM) forces - an umbrella militia which is officially part of the Iraqi security forces - had been hit.
Earlier, a US commander said Kataib Hezbollah - one of the most powerful groups in the PM - was likely to have fired the rockets.
"The Iranian proxy group Kataib Hezbollah is the only group known to have previously conducted an indirect fire attack of this scale against US and coalition forces in Iraq," Central Command chief Gen Kenneth McKenzie told a Senate committee.
The defence department confirmed a series of "defensive precision strikes" had been carried out by manned aircraft against five Kataib Hezbollah facilities that stored weapons including rockets.
"These include facilities that housed weapons used to target US and coalition troops," it said. "[The strikes] were defensive, proportional, and in direct response to the threat posed by Iranian-backed Shia militia groups."
"The United States will not tolerate attacks against our people, our interests, or our allies," Defence Secretary Mark Esper added. "We will take any action necessary to protect our forces."
The strikes targeted five weapons storage facilities across the country, the US defence department said.
Two Americans and a British soldier were killed in Wednesday's rocket attack on the Camp Taji military base.
The Iraqi military says three soldiers, two policemen and a civilian were killed in the US counter-strikes.
It said the US had carried out "a blatant attack" on Iraqi military sites in Babil province and an airport under construction in Karbala province. It also said the headquarters of the Popular Mobilisation (PM) forces - an umbrella militia which is officially part of the Iraqi security forces - had been hit.
Earlier, a US commander said Kataib Hezbollah - one of the most powerful groups in the PM - was likely to have fired the rockets.
"The Iranian proxy group Kataib Hezbollah is the only group known to have previously conducted an indirect fire attack of this scale against US and coalition forces in Iraq," Central Command chief Gen Kenneth McKenzie told a Senate committee.
The defence department confirmed a series of "defensive precision strikes" had been carried out by manned aircraft against five Kataib Hezbollah facilities that stored weapons including rockets.
"These include facilities that housed weapons used to target US and coalition troops," it said. "[The strikes] were defensive, proportional, and in direct response to the threat posed by Iranian-backed Shia militia groups."
"The United States will not tolerate attacks against our people, our interests, or our allies," Defence Secretary Mark Esper added. "We will take any action necessary to protect our forces."